Fertilizer Strategies For Epensive N

We are all aware of expensive energy when we fill up at the gas pumps, but high energy costs also translate into high prices for nitrogen fertilizer. Natural gas is the feedstock for making anhydrous ammonia, so fertilizer manufacture is competing with home heating and electricity production for the same raw material. As the cost of anhydrous ammonia goes up, all the other nitrogen fertilizer materials follow.

It appears we are headed for higher nitrogen prices this spring, but there are decisions you can make to reduce the impact of higher prices on your bottom line.

Check Your Crop Mix

Corn and wheat need more nitrogen than soybeans, so switching to soybeans will reduce your fertilizer bill. This isn't a solution for all situations, because there are many more factors that go into the choice of crop than just the price of nitrogen. However it doesn't hurt to review your overall rotation to look for potential savings.

Target Optimum Fertilizer Rates

If you go for maximum yields, the fertilizer to grow the last few bushels will always cost more than the value of the grain. This spread gets wider as the price of fertilizer goes up, unless the price of grain is going up at the same rate. It normally takes about five pounds of corn to pay for one pound of fertilizer, and the general fertilizer recommendations are based on this ratio. If the ratio increases to 7:1, then the optimum fertilizer rate will drop by about twenty pounds of N per acre.

Sharp operators can manage this by locking in the prices of both their corn and fertilizer, so there isn't any guessing about what the price ratio will actually be.

Get the Most from Manure

Manure and other organic sources of nitrogen are worth more when the price of fertilizer is high. Account for them fully in your fertilizer program, and manage them to give the greatest benefit. Incorporating manure as soon as it is applied will save most of the readily available nitrogen, reducing the amount of fertilizer you have to buy.

Do Everything Else Right

To work, your fertilizer program has to be tied to a complete agronomic package. Pick the right hybrids, plant the right population into the right conditions, and control weeds and insect pests. Scrimping on other inputs to make up for increased fertilizer cost is false economy.